Point Pleasant pounds Panthers, 62-36

Bryan Walters bwalters@civitasmedia.com

January 18, 2014

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Good start. Better finish.

The Point Pleasant boys basketball team jumped out to a 15-11 first quarter lead and never looked back Friday night during a 62-36 victory over visiting Lincoln County in a non-conference matchup in Mason County.

The Big Blacks (6-6) received a little bit of an early test from the Panthers (3-7), who scraped and clawed to stay within two possessions for most of the first half. PPHS built on its four-point edge with a small 10-8 run in the second canto, giving the hosts a 25-19 advantage at the intermission.

Point Pleasant found its rhythm from that point on, as the Big Blacks made a 20-14 charge in the third canto to claim a double-digit lead of 45-33 headed into the finale. Point closed regulation with a 17-3 surge to wrap up the 26-point triumph while also snapping a two-game losing skid.

Lincoln County — which has now dropped two straight after winning three in a row — fell to 2-7 overall in road contests this winter. The guests also went 1-of-2 at the free throw line in the entire contest, while the Big Blacks netted 9-of-15 charity tosses for 60 percent.

Aden Yates led Point Pleasant with a game-high 19 points, followed by Garrett Norris with 12 points and Wade Martin with 10 markers. Alex Somerville and Evan Potter also chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.

Nick Templeton was next with three points, while Doug Workman and Cody Sroufe rounded out the scoring with two points and one marker. All but 10 points came from the Big Blacks’ starting unit.

Jake Ashley paced Lincoln County with 15 points, followed by Andrew Davis and Jake Reynolds with six markers apiece. Jacob Hudson also added five points in the losing effort.